Idaho Elk Hunt

[dain]

I am hunting Unit 17 the week of Sept 14th. Does anyone have experience here? I am curious as to what expect in terms of game quality and numbers. I am taking my 26Nosler with 140 Gr. Accubonds. I took a cow with it last year in West Texas. I am comfortable with its performance on large game.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I'd expect tough hunting. The harvest odds are low (18%) and that area is one of the hardest hit by wolves. Here is a link to harvest results for last year but you can check other years too. I personally think the results are off a bit because the people that are successful tend to report their kills where as the people that aren't don't bother and the percentage of people that report their success is only about 65%. So in reality all the hunts across the board are probably several percent lower than what F&G says. In reality I'd expect the overall odds there to be about 1 in 7 to 1 in 8 to harvest a bull and it might be even lower since the guides will have a higher success rate compared to the average person. I have hunted 15 and 16 a lot in the past but not since the wolves really took off. There use to be a lot of elk there. At least you get to hunt when they are calling. Good luck.

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/hunt ... r=2014#elk

 

[Vince]

Please take advantage of any wolf tags you can fill.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[IdahoCTD]

As far a I'm concerned IDFG should give wolf tags away to try and encourage people to shoot them. Paying the people who harvest them, like the old days with bounties, would be even better and in the long run cheaper for them.

 

[maverick2]

Check forest fire status in the week and days leading up to your hunt, and maybe have 1 or 2 backup plans on where to go within the unit. We've got fires all over the northern half of the state, including some severe ones just west of unit 17. If camping, fire danger is "extreme" so gear up accordingly with propane cooking/warming stuff. Good luck, and enjoy.

 

[dain]

Well, I just returned from Idaho, Unit 17. I saw one moose and a couple WT doe. Fires drove all wildlife from my campsite. Good Hike, Bad Hunt.

 

[DrMike]

Well, I just returned from Idaho, Unit 17. I saw one moose and a couple WT doe. Fires drove all wildlife from my campsite. Good Hike, Bad Hunt.

Sorry to hear that. Those are tough conditions.

 

[Elkman]

Idaho 17 is big with limited access. To look at the current active fires and area's impacted go to Inciweb. Upper right hand corner gives you the star and time frame to select for individual fires. Which will allow you to pull up a map. A list of fires in northern Idaho can be accessed by, searching National Situation Report. PM me if you need further help.